1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a pivotal nozzle for use in a machine tool for spraying liquid onto a desired location, and, in particular, to a remote controlled freely pivotal nozzle for spraying liquid onto a desired location for the purpose of cooling a cutting device and/or a work being processed and of reducing a friction so as to provide an enhanced cutting performance.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A typical prior art example of this type of freely pivotal nozzle for use in a machine tool is described in the Japanese Post-examination U.M. Pub. No. Hei 2-553 (U.M. Appln. No. Show 57-19580). As schematically illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, this pivotal nozzle includes a movable joint which is generally comprised of a main body 35, a spherical member 38 rotatably housed in the main body 35 and a liquid leak preventing member 37 interposed between the main body 35 and the spherical member 38. The main body 35 is formed at its end with a mounting section 35a which is threaded into a threaded hole provided at a desired location of a machining tool (not shown). A through-hole 38 is provided in the spherical member 38, and a short pipe 40 for ejecting liquid is fixedly fitted into the through-hole 38.
With this structure, the pipe 40 may be oriented in any desired direction manually by holding the pipe 40 and moving the pipe 40 in any desired direction. By setting the direction of the pipe 40 in this manner, desired liquid, such as lubricant or washing liquid, may be sprayed onto a desired location of a machining tool. As a result, the nozzle shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 may be used as a manually pivotable nozzle for spraying desired liquid. In this case, a plurality of such pivotal nozzles are mounted at desired locations of a machining tool.
However, since the above-described nozzle is directed in a desired direction manually, human intervention is required in changing the orientation of the nozzle. Thus, the machining tool must be stopped every time when the direction of one or more of such nozzles is to be changed so as to avoid the possibility of any accident on the part of an operator. In addition, since a relatively large number of such nozzles are provided, it is a time consuming task to set the orientation of such nozzles one by one.